Sony 35mm F1.4 G a high-end lens by Sony ranked on DxOMark

This G-series lens, equivalent to the L-series by Canon or DA-series by Pentax, could be placed along the lines of a Konica Minolta 35 mm f/1.4 G. This 35mm lens is fast, with its 1.4 aperture. It has a perfect wide angle for a full frame camera such as a Sony A900 or a Sony A850, this lens is a good 50mm equivalent mounted on a APS-C camera (like an A350, or the latest A580 and SLT A55). A brief review is available here...

Looking at the DxOMark score map, the score remains high up until f4. In low light condition, at 5.6, a photographer will have to increase the ISO and by consequence the noise will impact the global image quality.

On its resolution aspect this lens is very sharp between 2.4 and f8. Resolution suffers a bit on the larger apertures (especially at 1.4). This lack of resolution at 1.4 would explain why this lens does not score as well as the aforementioned Sony lenses.

Sony 35mm F1.4 G mounted on Sony A700, eq 50mm but less fast

Mounted on a Sony A700 the score remains pretty high (12). Resolution is not as good as on the A900 of course, but with 42 lp/mm the score is pretty close to that of other G-series Sony lenses.Transmission is a bit low: TStop is only 1.7, this sensor does not capture light as well as the A900‘s.

Nevertheless it would be worth noting that other APS-C models have performed worse, for example the TStop measured on the A380 is 2.1, which means that more than 1 EV lost. For more information on Tstop read our F-Stop blues article.

To summarize, the Sony 35mm F1.4G is a very good choice for any photographer with a full frame camera like a Sony A900 or a Sony A850 looking for wide angle and fast lenses. On smaller sensor cameras (APS-C), the global amount remains pretty good; however other choices are available and they might be cheaper.

Further readings for the Sony 35mm F1.4 G a high-end lens by Sony ranked on DxOMark

To provide photographers with a broader perspective about mobiles, lenses and cameras, here are links to articles, reviews, and analyses of photographic equipment produced by DxOMark, renown websites, magazines or blogs.

For years, lens makers have fought hard to market lenses of wider and wider aperture. Wide apertures (e.g., f /1.4 instead of f /2) but a series of measurement published on dxomark.com cast some doubts on the real benefits, for digitally equipped photographers, of these progresses.